Saturday, May 7, 2011

05/08/2011
The other side of the coin in the saying two or more heads are better than one, which Noynoy’s aides have bruited about in making a case for the many-headed communications office in Malacañang, is too many cooks spoil the broth.

Add to that a new saying, which is the chief cook spoils the broth some more.

Both the critics and allies of Noynoy trace his recent dipping survey ratings from the consistent ineffectiveness of the communications team, which has Sonny Coloma, Ricky Carandang and Edwin Lacierda holding Cabinet-rank positions for overlapping functions.

Three chefs and no sous-chefs ever goes well and worse, the master chef can’t even provide any direction for the entire cooking class..... MORE

When a Muslim group demonstrated and protested the killing of Osama bin Laden by a select American Navy SEALs team, hailing him as a “martyr,” there went the Palace mouthpiece telling these Filipino Muslims demonstrating that they should not honor Bin Laden as he was no martyr and no hero.

Said Noynoy’s spokesman, “We call on our Muslim brothers and sisters to look clearly on what Bin Laden has done. This affects the Philippines and the entire globe as well. He sinned and he has to be responsible for what he did.”

The Muslim group marched from their Mosque in Quiapo intending to go to the US embassy and hold their rally there, but were stopped by the police..... MORE

05/08/2011
The only plausible reason behind President Aquino’s desire for the Philippines to adopt an open skies policy in regard to the aviation industry is to afford beleaguered passengers the best value they can get for their hard-earned money.

Contrary to the claims of the highly-paid spin doctors of local airlines led by the Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific which is said to be the nation’s biggest passenger carrier today with a volume of about 12 million paying customers in 2010, congressional economic planners tell us the open skies policy now being espoused by the Aquino will not necessarily lead to the ruination of said companies, that is if they are properly managed.

What the Department of Tourism simply wants to accomplish in pushing the implementation of the open skies policy is to safeguard the interests of some 45 million incoming and outgoing passengers (the estimated volume in all Philippine airports last year) against airline firms out to make a big, quick buck..... MORE

05/08/2011
There was once this world famous character named “Henry K.” — an American professional politician and a perceived technocrat who said in many ways and provided different means in order to accomplish three very selfish and highly detestable societal realities: One, to assure that the number of population in Third World countries was well within tolerable count — according to him. Two, to guarantee that with the deflation of population growth in the said countries, the people therein would not consume practically their natural resources — according to him. Three, to ascertain wherefore that the people of First World countries, especially the Americans, could continue benefiting from the said foreign resources provided by nature — according to him. Crystal clear — according to him.

Thus were deliberately born, definitely promoted and accordingly funded the anti-baby realities of institutional “Birth Control,” open or public “Abortion,” “Population Control.” All these are the gross precursors of the now so fondly yet deceitfully called “Reproductive Health Bill.”.... MORE

05/08/2011
HONG KONG — Wild monkeys don’t seem to care that Hong Kong is a concrete jungle — they thrive so well on its fringes that the government has introduced birth control to curb a population boom.

Easy food handouts from some of the city’s seven million humans helped push macaque numbers to more than 2,000 in recent years — and a rise in nuisance complaints about monkeys that have lost a natural fear of people.

“I think we still have plenty of space for wildlife. But the countryside and the city are adjacent to each other and sometimes there is conflict,” said Chung-tong Shek of the government’s conservation department.

Reports of aggressive monkeys chasing hikers for food, grabbing bags and reaching for pockets surfaced in recent years as the macaque population grew..... MORE

05/08/2011
The beatification of Blessed John Paul II last Sunday was a great single event that should really touch the hearts of the Filipinos deeply. Unlike our first Filipino saint, Lorenzo Ruiz, who lived around the 17th century, we have a contemporary, live, tete-a-tete experience with this holy man from Poland since he has stepped into our shores, kissed our land twice in 1982 and 1995 during the World Youth Day. Our bonding with the man extended beyond his being the universal leader of some 1.2 billion Catholics all over the world including the nearly 70 million local Roman Catholics toward a deeper level where encounters were personally empowering and inspiring.

In 1982, the first time he came, he really wanted to see and bless the lepers of the Tala Leprosarium in San Jose del Monte Bulacan. Unfortunately then President Ferdinand Marcos discouraged the papal entourage for doing so for security reasons. But the Pope insisted, since he really had an eye and a heart for such dejected people whenever he visits a country. In his 1980 visit to Brazil, his tears trickled down freely upon beholding over a thousand lepers at one of the Brazilian colonies. To solve the impasse, the late Cardinal Sin thought of a way out. He summoned for me with instructions that I invite some 50 lepers from Tala Leprosarium, then bring them to Radio Veritas conference room where the Pope could meet and bless them, since the Holy Father was awarding the winners of the Catholic Mass Media Awards at the Radio Veritas auditorium on the same day..... MORE

MANILA, Philippines – The core income of power distribution giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) rose to P3.2 billion in the first quarter from last year’s P2.0 billion, while its resulting consolidated reported net income expanded 6.0-percent to P2.1 billion.

The company qualified that the increase in its consolidated net income has been generally propped by the implementation of the fourth regulatory year on its Second Regulatory Reset under performance-based regulation (PBR). This took effect in January this year.

It must be noted that the third and fourth regulatory years of its PBR-drawn tariffs have been voluntarily suspended in January last year; and the third regulatory year was only re-implemented in April billing of 2010.

Meralco emphasized that its “balance sheet remains strong and is in a favorable position to avail of opportunities to gear up.” In fact, it noted that when it tapped the financial markets for P2.5 billion worth of loan, it has been offered a very low interest rate..... MORE

WASHINGTON—Filipino undocumented workers are getting more worried as anti-immigration measures similar to Arizona are proceeding through legislatures in other states including Alabama, Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina and Georgia.

The new bill in Georgia is similar to one passed by Arizona last year that fueled a national debate on state measures to squeeze and discriminate immigrants.

Asked about the Georgia bill, President Obama said: "It is a mistake for states to try to do this piecemeal. We can't have 50 different immigration laws around the country. Arizona tried this and a federal court already struck them down.".... MORE

ON May 16, the grand ballroom of the Dusit Thani Manila hotel will be filled with the delightful hits of the Hotdog band when the trailblazing Pinoy pop- rock group in the 1970s stages a one- night reunion concert.

Dennis Garcia, one of the founders of the band and who plays bass, said the rare event will bring together other members of the group, namely, Rene Garcia (lead guitarist/vocals), Jess Garcia on drums, and Gina Montes, Maso Diez, Joy Reyes, and Rita Saguin Trinidad, all former lead vocalists of Hotdog at various times.

They will be backed up by guest performers Joey Abando from The Boyfriends, and session musicians Benjie Santos, Carlo Gaa, Roy Marinduque, and Roy Sadicon.

Hotdog revolutionized Philippine musical landscape with what was dubbed as the “Manila sound.” The songs were original Pilipino music distinguished for their catchy lyrics written by the Garcia brothers, Rene and Dennis, which mostly conveyed exuberance..... MORE

Rome, Italy---The crowds expected at Pope John Paul II’s beatification last Sunday were being pegged at first at no more than 300,000 for a number of reasons. The Royal Wedding in London the preceding Friday was said to have cut the Rome crowd in half; moreover, times were tough economically and the weather was not very good. Another big reason for the expected low turnout was that Rome hotels were said to have jacked up their prices way before the beatification, perhaps in anticipation of crowds similar to the mammoth throngs that flocked to the funeral of JPII in April 2005.

All these were said to have frightened his devotees that two days before his beatification we kept hearing of turnout of only around 300,000 people. I thought, kakalug-kalog ang St. Peter’s. Kawawa naman si JPII.

Poles flock to Rome for their compatriot

But the day before the event, people descended on Rome from everywhere in unbelievable numbers. The Poles, ever grateful to their compatriot JPII for supporting them all the way in their battle against Communist rule, arrived on trains and in over 200 big buses from all over Poland with their families, waving their red and white flags. Last Saturday they occupied the sidewalks around the Vatican with their sleeping bags and blankets, and the innumerable portalets assembled by the Rome Commune helped make their lives a bit bearable. ..... MORE

By KIMBERLIE OLMAYA NGABIT-QUITASOLwww.nordis.net
LACUB, Abra — Elders from the Cordillera signed a unity pact (pagta) against large scale mining and militarization on April 27 during the Cordillera Day celebrations here in barangay Buneg.

According to Johnny Sawadan of the Cordillera Elders Alliance (CEA), the unity pact was a result of a workshop held here. He said through the sharing and discussions, the elders representing all six provinces of the region deemed wise to seal a pact to protect the Cordillera from destructive mining and rights violations brought about by militarization.

Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources showed that 1.2 million hectares of the 1.8 million hectare total land area of the Cordillera is covered with approved and ongoing large scale mining applications..... MORE

By ALDWIN QUITASOLwww.nordis.netBAGUIO CITY — Cordillera workers led by the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and other sectoral organizations and individuals join the rest of the Filipino people in marching the streets to condemn the administration of President Benigno Aquino III for refusing to heed the workers call for a substantial wage increase.

The central theme of this year’s commemoration of May 1 as the International Labor Day is “Sahod dagdagan, makabuluhan! Presyo, ibaba ngayon na! Patung-patong na pahirap ni Pnoy, Labanan!. KMU declared May 1 as Workers’ and Peoples’ Day of outrage against the policies of Aquino administration..... MORE